Prius for Emergency Power

well, there's lots of stories here. but for non prius homeowners, and most prius owners, a home generator is an easier solution

 

i agree there are benefits, but most people are lazy, or not technically inclined

 

And smarter!!!

 

our daughter boght a small honda home generator. she can hook it up, start it, keep it filled, drain it, add stabil and etc.
but i don't think she could hook up an inverter system without help

 

I really want to use my Prius gen4 for 5kw power from the HV battery, but I can't find any guides or videos on how to tap it. The guides for the Gen 3 involve connecting wires to existing screw terminals on the junction box. But the Gen 4 exclusively uses plugs. And i don't think we're supposed to tap power from inside the battery because that would bypass all the current and monitoring systems. That'd probably mess up the charging computer.

Am I supposed to actually CUT the HV cable and splice in connectors? That's more damage to my car than i am comfortable doing.

Overall the process is more daunting and uncertain than paying the extra $3k for a high powered generator and maintaining that separately. It's way more straightforward: Go to store, get generator, get gas, drive home, add gas, fiddle with the VERY OBVIOUS controls, pull cord.... And i have power. And there are hundreds of youtube videos on every step, so even an absolute moron can follow along.

Getting the prius ready?... i'll be honest i don't even know what size tools i need to unscrew the seat covers, how am i supposed to tap the high voltage battery? I can't find a single guide, written or video for the Gen 4.

95% of the public will gladly sacrifice efficiency for ease of use, myself included.

I think the plugout power website would benefit tremendously if there were clear and obvious guides for how to install the parts for every model of Prius, especially Gen 4, and Gen 3.

A video guide would be exponentially useful.

I go to the website and it just feels like ad. It extolls the virtues of Prius power, but there is no manual to read to video to follow. I feel like it's saying: "Here, YOU figure it out"

But that's the thing, I can't.

I still don't know how to non-invasively tap the HV battery without splicing the cable. And i don't want to do that in case i want to reverse my changes and resell my car someday. It's not fair to the next buyer if the cable was haphazardly cut up by some moron who thinks he's knows what he's doing.

Are the instructions on how to tap the battery included in the kit? would it be possible to post them online on the website?

If it's already online then i'm sorry for missing it, but that's what's stopping me from using my Prius for power.

 

Something to keep in mind when considering this idea is the amp hour capacity of the Prius traction battery and the life time cycle of the battery. What is possible is not necessarily advisable.

 

I think the idea is not to use the just the battery, but the hybrid system as a whole. Turn the car on to Ready Mode, and then start drawing power. From car's point of view, it's being loaded just like if it were being driven, in fact less so, extremely light loading. So it keeps the battery within its charge range by turning on the engine whenever it gets low. Just like if it were getting low from being driven. The system as a whole is specifically designed for this. That's the whole point of hybrids. The NiMH traction battery actually has comparatively pathetic amp hour capacity. But it's the engine generator that does the magic.

If you just kept the car off and took power from the battery only, then yeah, you'd run it down past the lower limits and possibly damage it. The "Prius Generator" idea instead focuses on using the hybrid system as a whole, and lets the ECU do its job of maintaining excellent battery condition under variable loading.

All that begin said. What trips me up is tapping the HV cable. The first mechanic i spoke didn't know how, the second didn't want to be liable for me killing myself from the voltage (a sensible response if i were in his position), and the third laughed in my face and told me to get a generator like normal people. So i gotta do it myself, but without a guide and tested demonstration, i'm not comfortable with doing it, especially if it means splicing the existing HV Cable.